"The Mick" is Fox's Bouncy, Boozy, Ballsy New Year's Baby

The Mick is about a loveable lowlife named Mackenzie amp8220Mickamp8221 Murphy who ends up having to raise her wealthy sisteramp8217s spoiledass kids after she and her husband are accused of tax evasion and have to flee the country and the law The pilot establishes Olsonamp8217s character as something of a modernday version of the classic rebel like a stereotypical slacker in the Nineties who just decided to own it all the way into her late thirtiesMicky as sheamp8217s sometimes called is wild in a fun way as if all of her experience conning and getting over have given her a unique point of view as well as some very helpful amp8220life skillsamp8221 amp160Although she does have a few things in common with Sweet Dee sheamp8217s different in a very specific way sheamp8217s a good person In Sunny Dee like the rest of the gang is straightup toxic That funky variation on the groupoffriendswhoworktogether trope was and still is that showamp8217s defining characteristic and its rude charm amp160Instead of the characters slowly learning from their mistakes and improving as adult individuals they learn nothing at all and more often than not become even shittier peopleThe Mick however centers on a leading lady with a heart That heart is buried under the crust of a perpetual threeday bender but itamp8217s thereThe kids in this show Sabrina Chip and Ben Sofia BlackDamp8217Elia Thomas Barbusca and Jack Stanton respectively do a very good job of pissing everyone off right at the start They remind me of the mother in Mrs Doubtfire in that theyamp8217re not necessarily bad but they still give me every reason to root for the other guy In my opinion they absolutely need a good oldfashioned buttwhoppinamp8217 though They have some serious issues with authority that they express in ways that well letamp8217s just say I wouldnamp8217t have been able to get away with when I was their ageIt is fun watching Micky outsmart her bitchy older sister or seeing her amp8220guyamp8221 Jimmy Scott MacArthur give his brand of fatherly advice to the severely misguided bratty middlechild but the icing on the cake is the youngest boy Ben He still has the innocence of youth and as it happens that makes him the source of some the cutest grownuplittlekid exchanges Iamp8217ve ever seenA handful of sub characters are also introduced during the pilot the most notable being Alba Carla Jimenez the familyamp8217s inhouse hired help Liz the snootynosey neighbor and an unnamed community security guard who has it out for Mackenzie The latter two provide a couple of decent opportunities for quick laughs but Alba is the stand out of the bunch amp160Her primary purpose seems to be playing second fiddle to Mick whenever sheamp8217s in need of a partnerincrime Pictured below left to right Olson Jimenez BlackDe39Elia Barbusca and StantonNow itamp8217s obvious that these days everyone and everything has got a group of whistleblowers especially since the Internet has given every person with an opinion a digital soapbox from which they may chastise the world and one could say I have legitimate cause to be offended by Jimenez39 portrayal of the stereotypical Latina housemaid but to that I say quite sincerely that it is not that serious The Mickamp160was not built to be overthought its actually hella enjoyable Besides as a current Connecticut resident I can personally verify that an upper middle class family employing Latino help is pretty commonplace in wealthy households regardless of the opinion one may have of that scenarioThe premise of The Mick resembles that of a raunchy featurelength comedy like The Boss or Bad Teacher but in the sitcom formatamp160that puts it in a weird space In a movie there are approximately 90 minutes in which to work out all the questions the plot raises watch the main characters follow their arcsamp160and see most if not all of their problems resolvedamp160 The time constraint provides a deadline for important decisions to be madeamp160 What jokes work the best How relevant is this scene to the characteramp8217s progressionBut as a TV show a story of this kind runs the risk of being on longer then it necessarily takes for certain questions to be answered In The Mick those questions are obvious or not so obvious depending on who you are For instance when does the government step in and ask real questions about whether Mickyamp8217s fit to raise these kids Her actions during the pilot alone are solid enough ground for the state to intervene How long before the family bank accounts dry up seeing as the family breadwinners have now fled the countryamp160 Their assets are almost certainly under federal investigation and theyamp8217re still swiping their black cards like the bills are never comingFinally I imagine Micky will have won the kids over at least for the most part by seasonamp8217s end but how exciting will the show be when the main conflict is goneamp160 Donamp8217t get me wrong I love The Mick so faramp160To me itamp160feels like a TV family comedy thatamp8217s been possessed by the soul of an irreverent featurelength comedy and Iamp8217m curious to see how this one ends Regardless of whether all my questions get answered or not the ride is definitely going to be a fun one with or without the wineClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

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"The Mick" is Fox's Bouncy, Boozy, Ballsy New Year's Baby

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Ainsley Andrade

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

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"The Mick" is Fox's Bouncy, Boozy, Ballsy New Year's Baby

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Ainsley Andrade

"About That with Carl Mayer:" Alaina Donnellon (Episode 6) - By Carl Mayer

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